Human Rights Abuses by Canadian Mining Company in Papua New Guinea

A Human Rights Watch report unveils a series of human rights abuses by the multinational corporation Barrick Gold. The Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea, operated by Barrick Gold, has been accused of various acts of sexual abuse and violence carried out by the mine’s security force.

From Human Rights Watch:

The 94-page report, “Gold’s Costly Dividend: Human Rights Impacts of Papua New Guinea’s Porgera Gold Mine,” identifies systemic failures on the part of Toronto-based Barrick Gold that kept the company from recognizing the risk of abuses, and responding to allegations that abuses had occurred. The report examines the impact of Canada’s failure to regulate the overseas activities of its companies and also calls on Barrick to address environmental and health concerns around the mine with greater transparency.

Human Rights Watch investigated six alleged incidents of gang rape by company security personnel. In each case, women were allegedly raped after being captured by company security personnel on the waste dumps.